Sometimes, the ’burg feels downright cosmopolitan, what with its art galleries, hi-rise condos and often-bustling foot traffic. You can almost feel a big-city vibe. Then, a baseball game or fireworks display comes along, or a First Friday block party coincides with a big Jannus Landing concert, and you’re forced back to the reality that downtown St. Pete is basically eight blocks and two public parking garages. It seems like every time the city hosts any sort of big weekend event, the traffic snarls and the search for parking ripples outward far beyond the average motorist’s capacity for patience. We’re certainly not in favor of turning a beautiful area into an asphalt wasteland, but a little more synergy between event coordinators and public transportation officials might go a long way toward easing the maddeningly predictable Rays game/RibFest/Taste of Pinellas chaos.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.